Chapter 1056: The Vanishing Chimecho
Leaving aside the troubles with James and Jessie, Yuga and his group faced another ambush upon arriving at the third floor.
The third floor was similar to the second in terms of environment but much larger in space. Instead of the meager oil lamps from the second floor, the walls were adorned with large, fist-sized pearls providing illumination.
Yuga found the pearls to be incredibly valuable. However, the real issue was the hostile Baltoy, Solrock, and Lunatone.
The Baltoy on the third floor were just as lifeless as those on the second floor, but their numbers were far greater—at least a dozen by Yuga's 's estimation. The number of Solrock and Lunatone under their control was even more significant.
Yuga was surprised to see so many Solrock and Lunatone. Both are meteor Pokémon, and according to Pokémon scholars, their ancestors came from meteors, making them very rare and usually found near meteor craters.
While encountering a single Solrock or Lunatone in the wild was not unheard of, seeing a large group together was unprecedented.
As soon as Yuga and his team entered the third floor, the Baltoy were alerted. Although Baltoy lacked self-awareness, they acted like they had a sensing system, triggering an alarm when outsiders entered.
Under the Baltoy's control, the Lunatone at the front unleashed a barrage of Power Gems. The golden beams shot out like a rain of arrows toward Yuga and his group.
The Lunatone on the third floor were much stronger than the Baltoy on the second. Yuga spotted several near-Elite level and even one Elite level Lunatone.
The Solrock hiding behind the Lunatone were just as formidable, making the situation very challenging.
Fortunately, after dealing with the attacks on the first and second floors, Yuga and his team were well-prepared. As the Lunatone launched their attack, their Pokémon quickly set up defenses. Particularly, Yuga's Chimecho deployed Light Screen, shielding the team from most of the attacks.
Ash and Brock were astonished by the extent of Chimecho's Light Screen. Ash was familiar with this move through his own Mr. Mime, but he had never seen it create so many screens at once.
After the Lunatone's initial attack, Yuga and his team were shocked to see the Solrock begin absorbing the light from the pearls on the walls. The whole third floor seemed to dim momentarily.
It turned out that the pearls not only provided illumination but also energy for the Solrock. It was said that Solrock could absorb solar energy during the day, making them especially powerful in sunlight. In the absence of the sun in the Mirage Tower, the pearls likely served as a substitute.
Understanding this, Yuga realized that the Solrock's attacks were even more powerful, as they unleashed solar beams that were even more formidable than the Lunatone's Power Gems.
"Everyone, get down! Chimecho, use Light Screen!" Yuga shouted. He immediately dropped to the ground, and everyone else followed suit without hesitation.
Boom, boom, boom...
Even with Chimecho's Light Screen, a large portion of the walls was shattered by the solar beams. Fortunately, the group ducked in time, narrowly avoiding the beams.
After surviving the Solrock and Lunatone's attacks, Yuga's Sawsbuck charged into the Lunatone group like a sharp arrow, disrupting their formation.
Sawsbuck, once inside the Lunatone's ranks, faced a barrage of attacks. However, it was incredibly agile, dodging the Lunatone's attacks while kicking them aside.
Seeing Sawsbuck's impressive performance, the other Pokémon joined the battle. Charizard mimicked Sawsbuck's aggressive approach and broke into the center of the Solrock, shattering their formation just as Sawsbuck did with the Lunatone.
With the Solrock and Lunatone unable to maintain their formations, they couldn't execute their initial combined attacks, reducing the threat to Sawsbuck and Charizard.
As the Solrock and Lunatone came under attack, the Baltoy controlling them experienced intense mental strain.
Noticing this, Chimecho attempted to take advantage and disrupt the Baltoy. However, as Chimecho approached, the pre-set defensive measures of the Baltoy were triggered.
Suddenly, intricate patterns on the walls behind the Baltoy began to move. Strange black symbols detached from the walls and transformed into various unknown Pokémon, known as Unown.
Unown are mysterious Pokémon found in many famous ruins, but no trainer has ever managed to capture them due to their elusive nature.
While a single Unown isn't very strong, when many gather together, they can produce various mysterious phenomena.
There were at least a thousand Unown gathered together, creating a dark, ominous mass and emitting a rapid, dense chorus of sounds.
"Di-li-li... Di-li-li... Di-li-li..."
Unown, spinning at high speeds, arranged themselves into a spiral and ascended into the air. Under Yuga's horrified gaze, they tore open a pitch-black space rift and, in the blink of an eye, pulled Chimecho in and made it disappear.
"Chimecho!!!" Yuga roared and broke away from the crowd, rushing towards the direction where the Baltoy were.
"Yuga!"
"Mr. Shimizu!"
...
Seeing this, the others immediately tried to hold Yuga back, but Yuga was too fast and quickly leaped out of their defensive range.
Once Yuga left the defense circle, Solrock and Lunatone began their assault on him. At that moment, Yuga's mind was solely focused on the image of Chimecho disappearing, completely ignoring the Solrock and Lunatone trying to attack him.
Fortunately, Mimikyu was still by his side, and Sawsbuck arrived just in time to assist. Yuga safely reached the vicinity of the Baltoy, but was blocked by a powerful Solrock and Lunatone.
Without hesitation, he threw out a Poké Ball, releasing Vivillon, and coldly ordered, "Vivillon, take care of them!"
"Rii, rii, rii!"
Sensing Yuga's anger and anxiety, Vivillon nodded. Two large yellow-green energy orbs slowly formed on its wings, gradually turning darker and blacker.
With a "buzz," Vivillon launched the nearly black energy orbs, forming two energy columns thicker than its wings, which accurately hit Solrock and Lunatone.
The two powerful Pokémon were sent flying without a chance to resist.
Solrock crashed into a wall and lost its ability to battle, while Lunatone hit a nearby Baltoy, shattering the fragile Baltoy into pieces.
Vivillon used Signal Beam, the strongest Bug-type move it gained after awakening from the Genesect fossil. Before Chimecho reached Champion level, Vivillon relied on this move to overpower it.
The lifeless Baltoy shells were even more fragile than expected. When one Baltoy shattered, some Lunatone fainted on the spot.
Without the protection of the powerful Lunatone and Solrock, the remaining dozen or so Baltoy were all blasted into pieces by Vivillon's Signal Beam.
With the control of the Baltoy gone, the Lunatone and Solrock fell to the ground, and Yuga's crisis was resolved. However, Yuga did not feel relieved; he stared blankly at the spot where Chimecho had disappeared.
"Yuga, are you okay?" May asked with concern, "Chimecho will be fine."
Everyone had seen Chimecho disappear just now.
"Yes, yes, Chimecho is so strong, it will definitely be fine," Ash immediately agreed with May and comforted Yuga, "I've encountered Unown before; they're not malicious and won't cause trouble for Chimecho."
"Thank you," Yuga weakly responded to them, still staring at the spot where Chimecho had vanished.
The others exchanged worried glances, not knowing what to do.
The waiting time felt long, and for Yuga, every second was torture. He even worried about what would happen if Chimecho really didn't come back. Having been in the Pokémon world for almost seven years, Chimecho, along with Mrs. Florinda and Absol, had always been his closest companions and his bond with this world. But now...
While Yuga was lost in thought, the sky suddenly split open, and Chimecho fell out, landing directly into Yuga's arms.
Yuga: ...
Chimecho: ...
"Rii, rii, rii." Chimecho nuzzled affectionately in Yuga's arms.
"Welcome back, Chimecho," Yuga said quietly as he tightened his embrace around Chimecho.
Seeing Chimecho return, Yuga's face finally showed a smile, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It was truly frightening.
After calming down, Yuga checked Chimecho: "Chimecho, are you okay?"
"Rii, rii." Chimecho seemed unsure whether it was okay or not.
Noticing Chimecho's unusual attitude, Yuga asked anxiously, "Is there something wrong with you?"
"Rii, rii."
Chimecho nodded, and Yuga saw strange black patterns emerging on its body.
The moment the black patterns appeared, Yuga felt a strong impact on his mind. He was hit with dizziness and a barrage of loud, chaotic sounds that seemed to invade his head uncontrollably.
Yuga immediately recognized these as the voices of the Unown.
As soon as the black patterns appeared on Chimecho, a powerful psychic force erupted from it, knocking everyone else away except for Yuga, who was holding Chimecho.
"What... happened?" Ash asked in confusion as he got up from the ground.
"I don't know," the others replied in unison.
While the others were thrown back, Yuga's consciousness returned, and the noise in his mind vanished as if it had never been there, like an illusion.
Looking at the black patterns on Chimecho, Yuga asked in confusion, "Chimecho, what is this?"
Chimecho: "Rii, rii, rii."
Yuga asked incredulously, "What? You're saying these are your subordinates?" He felt like he wasn't on the same page as Chimecho. What did "subordinates" even mean?
Seeing that Yuga didn't understand, Chimecho reluctantly flew out of his embrace. As Yuga watched Chimecho floating in the air, the black patterns on its body wriggled and then surged rapidly. Then, the Unown emerged from Chimecho like a tidal wave, and the black patterns disappeared.
Yuga: ... So those black patterns were the Unown? And "subordinates" also referred to the Unown?
Seeing Chimecho surrounded by Unown like stars around the moon, Yuga was momentarily at a loss for words. Not only was Yuga dumbfounded, but the others were also shocked.
After demonstrating, Chimecho called out, and all the Unown surged towards Chimecho again, forming patterns on its body, which then wriggled and vanished.
Yuga involuntarily activated his Mystic Eyes to look at Chimecho.
Chimecho (Unown Parasite)
Type: Psychic
Gender: Female
Ability: Levitate
Potential: Purple
Level: 81 (Normal)
Moves: Psybeam, Gravity, Heal Pulse, Heal Bell, Synchronize, Shadow Ball, Misty Terrain, Roar, Confuse Ray, Meditate, Light Screen, Psychic, Reflect, Wish, Future Sight, Teleport, Telekinesis, Skill Swap, Substitute, Rest, Charge Beam, Dream Eater, Trick Room, Self-Recovery.
There weren't any significant changes, but the state was unusual, and Yuga began to worry. He looked at the returning Chimecho and asked uneasily, "Are you sure those Unown staying on you won't cause harm?"
"Rii, rii, rii!" Chimecho confidently assured Yuga that it was fine.
Yuga, still worried, consulted the system. Regardless, having a group of unfamiliar Pokémon parasitize oneself always feels unsettling.
Upon Yuga's request, the system checked Chimecho and said, "There shouldn't be a problem. The Unown and Chimecho seem to have formed a special symbiotic relationship. Their psychic energies are interconnected, and they should complement each other rather than harm Chimecho."
Hearing the system's explanation, Yuga finally felt relieved.
At this moment, Lovia and the four children walked over, looking concerned. "How is it? Is Chimecho okay?"
Yuga smiled slightly and said, "It's okay. Sorry for making everyone worry."
Looking at Chimecho, who was now living in symbiosis with the Unown, Yuga took out its Poké Ball, unsure if it could still be returned to it.
Yuga's concern was unnecessary; Chimecho was smoothly returned to the Poké Ball.
However, Yuga didn't know that if Chimecho's Poké Ball had been an ordinary one, he would have been unable to recall it. But Chimecho's Poké Ball was specially made by the system for Yuga's main Pokémon.
Yuga didn't know this, didn't ask, and the system didn't offer further explanations.
(End of Chapter)